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| toubab1020 |
Posted - 03 Mar 2019 : 16:28:35
" €347. 559. 141, 24M out of the 365M compared to the €50M given to Jammeh in five years."
AND
“If they decide to extend the mandate then comes the question of who pays the bill?”
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By Omar Bah 01/03/2019
The European Union Ambassador to The Gambia, Attila Lajos has said although the EU “doesn’t necessarily have the interest or intention of a premature withdrawal of the Ecomig forces” he believes prolonging their presence in the country will only reflect a seemingly fragile security situation in The Gambia.
“The EU doesn’t have interest in any premature withdrawal of Ecomig out of the country before the completion of the reforming of the country’s security sector, neither do we want to keep external forces in a democratically transforming country for too long. So I think the political challenge for Ecowas is to find the right time for an exit strategy for Ecomig,” he said at an EU-media breakfast yesterday.
Lajos said it may not be all that positive for any government in the world to complete its term with foreign forces in its country.
“It gives an impression of how fragile that government could be. So I don’t think it is in the interest of the government to keep the Ecomig forces here forever. I believe the Gambia is capable of handling its security. It will be painful but it is possible. This is why we are pushing for the issue of reforming the security sector,” he added.
The Ecomig current mandate ends in August and according to the EU rep, he cannot assure that the EU will continue to support the Ecomig if their mandate is extended again, adding that the EU has already spent twenty-two million Euros on the Ecomig.
Ambassador Lajos said the decision to extend Ecomig’s mandate is entirely an Ecowas decision.
“If they decide to extend the mandate then comes the question of who pays the bill?”
Migration
Ambassador Lajos said The Gambia government and the European Union are engaged in talks that include a plan to deport thousands of Gambians who are living in EU nations illegally.
The Barrow administration is accused of agreeing to a deal with the European Union to return Gambian migrants living in Europe ‘illegally’.
But Lajos said although there is no deal between the Gambia government and the EU, talks were ongoing to deport a particular group of Gambians which is in the range of thousands.
This, he said, is part of the discussions because those who exhausted their legal possibilities for seeking asylum or legalising their status in EU countries are going to be returned.
“This is a matter of principle; this is part of the respect for the rule of law. No country wishes to have illegal migrants in its territory,” Lajos said.
The EU ambassador said latest deportation from Germany was not an EU exercise but one that came at the instance of the governments of Germany and The Gambia.
“Those who were returned have been identified by German authorities as Gambians and since they exhausted their possibilities to stay longer in the territory of Germany, they were deported. It was not an EU sponsored return operation,” he said.
EU support
Lajos further revealed that EU and its member states have provided by far the largest part of international development assistance to the Gambia with a staggering €347. 559. 141, 24M out of the 365M compared to the €50M given to Jammeh in five years.
Although the EU has continued to pump billions of dalasi into The Gambia under the new leadership, the ambassador said there is no condition, clause or article that obliges the Barrow administration to repatriate its citizens from Europe.
https://standard.gm/?p=53426 |
| 1 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| toubab1020 |
Posted - 04 Mar 2019 : 09:17:57
I am confused can anyone explain ? .I am only a "simple" soul NOT a politician or accountant.
Statements like this:
"The EU projects in The Gambia are divided into government, security, rule of law, infrastructure, energy, climate change, transport, rural development, agriculture, food security, migration, employment, inclusive sustainable growth and trade."
Where so many "projects" are being funded each one appears to be a seperate entity and it is MOST PROBABLE that they have no day to day interaction with each other no wonder confusion reigns. 
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Friday, March 01, 2019
European Union’s Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development, Neven Mimica has stated in a statement read to journalists by the Union’s Ambassador in The Gambia, Attila Lajos on Tuesday that the Union has secured a first budget support disbursement of 1.375 billion dalasi for Gambia.
At a press breakfast at Ocean Bay Hotel at Cape Point in Bakau, Ambassador Lajos reaffirmed EU’s support and commitment to The Gambia, by signing an immediate package of 75 million Euros and announcing a second package of 150 million Euros in the mid-term
“The budget support disbursement will help the new government to stabilise its budgetary position and pay salaries and bills. The meeting was on a comprehensive overview of the ongoing EU project activities in The Gambia.”
The EU projects in The Gambia are divided into government, security, rule of law, infrastructure, energy, climate change, transport, rural development, agriculture, food security, migration, employment, inclusive sustainable growth and trade.
He said the EU is a global actor and as such, wishes to promote a comprehensive partnership with The Gambia. “This means a mature, respectful and mutually-benefitting relationship that goes beyond mere traditional development assistance.”
He said with the regime change in the country, the EU-Gambia relationship could be fundamentally transformed. “From the onset, the EU affirmed its support to democratic transition in The Gambia and to the realisation of The Gambia National Development Plan.”
Ambassador Lajos said, that was why in 2018; they started a second 5.3 million Euros intervention in the framework of the Global Climate Change Alliance.
He said they are conscious that The Gambia still has many challenges to face, with probably security as the most pressing one. “There can be no development without security,” he said.
Ambassador Lajos said it should be a Gambian responsibility to ensure the country’s security, saying EU is supporting the security sector reform by providing essential technical assistance.
Author: Fatou Dem
http://thepoint.gm/africa/gambia/article/eu-secures-d1375b-budget-support-disbursement-for-gambia |
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